1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of frozen confections and drinks, particularly frozen solid hand held treats such as pops having a center containing liquid.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that people commonly enjoy novelty beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, which combine flavors or provide a unique combination, such as mixed alcoholic drinks, blended smoothies, fruit combination drinks, combination specialty martinis, and the like in order to satisfy a variety of tastes and experiences.
The alcoholic beverage industry has also introduced a number of new flavored spirits, e.g., flavored vodka. Vodka, for example, because of its unique flavor which is typically served cold over ice, and blending capability has been combined with ice or used in various frozen blender drinks. Spirits such as vodka can also be combined with ice sculptures and frozen drink fountains and the like.
Other frozen treats combine textures as well as flavors, for example, when ordering water ice with soft ice cream in a gelato combination, one picks the two flavors for combination. As a result of the trend in combining flavors and textures, as well as enjoyment of frozen beverage treats, there have been prior art attempts to prepare frozen drink cups and/or pop making devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,516 of Horen describes use of an insertable hollow shaft having a handle that can be put into a drink bottle to enable a user to pour liquid into the bottle when right-side-up, and then invert it so that liquid fills the portion of the inverted bottle around the exterior of the inserted hollow cylinder shaft up to a specific level. When the liquid freezes, it forms an ice ring. The user can store the bottle with the frozen ice ring, and when ready to use it, pour a beverage through the ice ring so as to drink the beverage cold.
German Patent Publication No. 10 2004 007 417 A1 is an example of an ice cup mold. It discloses a mold that can be formed of a rubber such as silicone for forming an ice cup. The mold produces a frozen cup that can be formed of a frozen beverage or other liquid such as water. A user can drink a beverage from the empty space in the cup.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,490 of Hanley shows a device with an inner cup for creating a solid frozen beverage in an inner space, and an outer cup that fits over the frozen inner cup to allow for a liquid beverage to be poured and drank from an area around the exterior of the inner frozen core.
Various molds for frozen pops an also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,591,261 teaches a mold having hollow compartments form making frozen pops and a lid which includes a spike for attaching a holding stick to the frozen pop. The user is able to detach the lid (which keeps the beverage from contamination), but still check to see if it is done through a side hole. The stick may be solid or a hollow tube. PREPARA provides a plastic mold, sold as a Volcano Pop Set, for home use that prepares a single pop on a handle. The mold provides a depressed area that for ms an open well for holding a beverage inside the well. After forming the pop, a user can pour the liquid into the open well. Various similar pop mold for forming shaped pops are known for home and industrial use.
In industrial frozen pop formation, pops are formed in industrial mold on a stick, typically a wood stick approved for food contact and packaged in a paper or plastic sheath or wrapper. Frozen ice cream cones in tear away wrappers are also available pre-frozen for consumer purchase.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0011106 A1 discloses devices that enable frozen treats to stay frozen longer in warm conditions. A tray is provided that may include a cooling gel, water or other liquid in the hollow of the tray to keep a popsicle colder longer in the tray so that the user has time to eat it before it melts. In certain embodiments, hollow walls to shape popsicles can include liquid for cooling inside the open space defined within hollow mold walls to keep the popsicles cooler longer in the mold. A hollow core may also be provided on the interior of a popsicle using an extension off of the popsicle stick so as to provide a frozen interior core stick to maintain the popsicle in a frozen condition longer than an ordinary popsicle. A drip tray may also be provided that has a hollow interior to assist in keeping the frozen popsicle cold and resist melting longer. Liquids useful for freezing in the hollow cores, cases and molds includes freezing gels and other edible and non-edible liquids. Edible liquids may be sucked out of a drain/fill hole for the frozen core fluid after the popsicle is done and the core liquid has finally melted to a liquid.
There is a continued need for innovative new that provide novelty benefit or enable new and varied frozen treats for use in the food and beverage industry.